HeroDistrict

San Diego Comic Con tickets went on sale this morning, and proceeded to sell out in about an hour. This news isn’t really shocking, as this has been the trend for what has become the biggest and most well known comic convention in the world. This is for good reason, as SDCC is an absolute blast to attend. It can be pretty annoying though, as there are many fans who would love to attend a big convention but simply can’t get their hands on tickets. Luckily, while SDCC is the biggest, it’s not the only convention to check out this summer. In fact, there is a large convention being held in Colorado for its inaugural year. Here are some reasons why you should check out Denver Comic Con and help it grow.

Disclaimer: I’m Super Biased

First off, I have to say that I am super biased in wanting Denver Comic Con to succeed. I personally know many of the people who are putting the show together, along with a fair amount of the exhibitors that will be there because I live in Colorado. I would like nothing more than a large and successful convention to happen in a place where I can easily get to without needing to splurge on airfare or a hotel because I am a selfish person.

Tickets Are Still Available

The biggest reason to check out this convention is because you still can. Because Denver Comic Con is in its first year, it doesn’t have the sort of publicity that the established conventions have. As a result, not everybody has been online buying up every ticket within minutes of them going on sale. In fact, you can click on this link right now to purchase some tickets. An added bonus is that tickets to a fledgling convention such as Denver Comic Con are much cheaper than those to other conventions. A 3 day pass to Denver Comic Con costs about as much as a one day pass to SDCC, leaving you with enough money to buy food, collectibles, and other essential items.

Fewer Crowds

Denver Comic Con will not get nearly the sort of crowd that San Diego Comic Con, no matter how well things go this year. This is actually a good thing for those who choose to go, as you won’t be pressed in a throng of sweaty masses all day. There will also be less time spent in lines circling around the entire convention center. Basically, you will have more time to actually do stuff, such as meet with comic creators, attend panels, or just wander around and see what there is to see. This should also provide a more relaxed environment for fans, as there won’t be 10,000 people trying to get into the same panel or waiting in line for 2 hours to catch a glimpse of some celebrity for 30 seconds.

Actually Talk to Established Comic Creators

I personally think this is the biggest bonus from not having huge crowds is the chance to actually have conversations with the people who create the comics we enjoy so much. I have attended some smaller conventions, and every time my favorite memories have involved having long discussions with comic creators. It is just very hard for that to happen when there are huge autograph lines. Denver Comic Con certainly won’t have the star power of SDCC, but there are still some confirmed guests that should draw a crowd such as Jason Aaaron, Gail Simone, and Amy Reeder.

Help Shape a Convention

Like I said, this is Denver Comic Con’s first year in existence. This is your chance to get in on the ground floor and help to shape this into something that people want to attend every year. There are going to be problems and miscues at the convention, that goes without saying. Luckily, fans and convention goers can help to nip these problems in the bud and offer suggestions to the people who are running the show. They are definitely willing to listen to advice and (constructive) criticism, because I know for a fact they want to turn Denver Comic Con into a large and respected event. You can also get hands on and volunteer for the convention. I am optimistic that this year will be fun, but we can make it an even better experience for future Denver Comic Con attendees.

I’ll be honest; the first theatrical trailer for the Avengers didn’t offer much for fans, other than proving that the movie actually existed. Which, to be fair, was enough for us. With the moving getting closer, we need to see more substance. Some actual character interaction. An idea of the plot. That’s exactly what we get from trailer number two.

I’m not even going to try to hold back my inner fanboy.  That was awesome. Hulk coming to the rescue? Iron Man ramming into Thor? What part of that didn’t excite you? The fun part is that every actor looks like they’re really trying in this trailer. Even Scarlett Johansson, who I thought might be a weak link, had some really cool lines here. The ending of Iron Man 2, where Tony is just made a consultant, finally makes sense. We get more sneak peeks at the alien antagonists, as well as the colossal Leviathan they bring to Earth.

The big theme of the movie has always been clear: these are deeply flawed people who by no means should ever be put in the same room. Even the insane Loki can tell that’s a bad idea. This trailer is the first time we truly see that come together. Despite being only two minutes long, it was touching to see them all unite not in spite of their differences, but because of them. Also, I liked the explosions. Manly explosions. May 4^th can’t get here soon enough.

With the movie almost two months away, get ready for a publicity storm for the Avengers. Which means it’s-Poster Time! 

Avenger Time, c’mon grab your friends…

Iron Man has been placed front and center, which isn’t much of a surprise a guess.  Is it just me, or does his arm look a little overextended or something? Hulk looks like a freaking beast, while Thor is just standing there, looking pretty. Fury clearly was not meant to be in the poster, and is leaning in to photobomb the team like a champ.

Other fun fact: Marvel has now changed the title of the movie in the UK to “Avengers Assemble”.  Sounds a bit goofy, but it’s a sensible change to differentiate the movie from the 1960’s British TV show. You might have seen the fantastically horrible film adapatation where Sean Connery tried to take over the world with a weather machine. I know, how could a movie with that plot description possibly be bad? Somehow, they found a way.

Rumor is a new trailer is due tomorrow, so stay tuned!

Sideshow Collectibles puts out some of the greatest statues a comic book fan could dream of. Well, at least a Marvel comic book fan. That is because, until recently, Sideshow held the license for Marvel characters but not DC. Now that they have the DC license, there is sure to be aweomeness in the future. There have already been some pretty cool pieces made with the DC license, but nothing I have had to jump on yet. Here are some pieces that, should they be made, I would mortgage fellow Hero District writer Billy’s home in order to purchase them.

Bane Breaks the Bat

Please make this, Sideshow. Please.

Yes, Bane is my favorite Batman villain. He is a super strong badass with a highly underrated intellect. The most iconic image of him is definitely the time when he cornered Batman in the Batcave and proceeded to break that fragile little bat-back over his knee. He managed to beat Batman both physically and mentally, officially making him one of the elite villains in Batman’s rogue gallery. A large diorama-like statue of that moment by Sideshow would surely be put in a place of prominence among my collection.

Flash at Full Speed

This makes a much better statue than Flash waiting around for a bus.

I’ve never been a big fan of statues that were made of characters in mundane poses. We like these characters because of their actions, so I want to see them in some dynamic poses. One character that I feel is too often portrayed in a standard hands on his hips pose is Flash. That is because this should never happen. He’s Flash! His whole gimmick is that he is always moving really fast! I want a statue of him in full sprint, lightning from the speed force flashing out all around him. With the level of detail that Sideshow puts into their creations, we could get a definitive collectible for when Barry Allen pushes himself to the limit at the end of Flashpoint.

Batman, The Question, and J’onn J’onzz on the Case

2/3 of the way there.

While it is always cool to see a superhero swoop in and pound a criminal into submission, I have always been particularly fond of the stories where they have to follow clues to reach a villain. I enjoy the journey of Batman sifting through evidence to solve a crime more than when he swings through Gotham and just happens to stumble upon a bank robbery. My three favorite detectives in the DC universe are Batman (duh), The Question, and the Martian Manhunter AKA J’onn J’onzz AKA John Jones. This would have to be a fairly large statue incorporating all three of these characters examining a crime scene. The toughest part would be how to sculpt J’onn J’onzz. He is nondescript when he disguises himself as human detective John Jones, but his martian appearance doesn’t fit into the detective motif as well. Sideshow should come up with an answer to that issue and then make this statue, it would definitely be a high seller.

It was reported earlier that Avengers writer Brian Michael Bendis would be leaving the franchise this summer, moving on to a whole new corner of the Marvel U. According to Bleeding Cool, Bendis might be making the jump to Marvel’s other A-list team: The X-Men. 

Only bald men can truly lead the X-Men.

Let’s get one thing straight: Bendis turned the Avengers into Marvel’s premiere title.  For years the comic was second to the X-Men, and Bendis turned them into the Marvel all stars.  He’s also written other, darker titles that have been good reads. That being said, I haven’t been able to stand the main Avengers titles for some time. Bendis is rehashing a lot of the same concepts about what it means to be an Avenger, and his dialogue has been driving me crazy. Moon Knight level crazy.

Fortunately, most of my friends are already imaginary.

While I’m happy to see someone new take on the Avengers (Mark Waid, anyone?), the idea of Bendis going to the X-men makes me nervous. The X-books are in a great place right now.  Uncanny X-Force is superb and Wolverine and the X-Men is the most entertaining comic I’ve ever read. I’m happy with the direction things are going in, and I would be devastated if one those two books gets sidetracked as part of another franchise wide shift. Jason Aaron is doing some fun things with the franchise with Schism, and I don’t want to see someone else derail those plans.

If Bendis does come in, I would expect him to start writing the “Uncanny” book.  Maybe this could work.  I feel pretty indifferent to Kieron Gillen’s writing on this series, even though I usually love his stuff. Hopefully, Bendis can offer something new for X-Men fans and shake things up like he did for the Avengers. I just have a bad feeling he’ll throw Wolverine into every book he gets. Bendis has been the worst offender of throwing Wolverine onto a team for no reason, and that might defeat the point of Schism.

People have always been big on licensing comic book characters, that way their likenesses could be plastered all over every product imaginable, from action figures to lunchboxes. I can’t say I’m surprised that The Avengers movie has led to some product tie-ins, but the latest is certainly the most interesting. Marvel and JADS International have come together to provide us stinky nerds with official Avengers cologne and perfumes. You can now smell like your favorite hero, even the one who spends all day in a hot metal suit.

You can finally smell like crisp $100 bills.

There is a 4-pack gift set that features Patriot Cologne, Mark VII Cologne, Worthy Cologne, and SMASH! Cologne. These are of course the scents of Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, and Hulk. I am actually very curious to see what these colognes actually smell like. I assume Patriot will feature the scent of bald eagles with a hint of apple pie. Mark VII is obviously a mix of rum, sweat, and iron. I’m not sure I want to dwell on what Hulk’s cologne will smell like.

This is a scent best left outside.

If this 4-pack isn’t enough super scent for you, there are three other options that will be released individually. For the ladies, there is Black Widow perfume. I’m sure most guys wouldn’t mind the special lady in their life smelling like Scarlett Johansson, or resembling her in any way really. There’s also Infinity Formula Cologne, which is designed to make you smell like Nick Fury, but unfortunately doesn’t say anything about having the life prolonging powers of the original Infinity Formula. Lastly, there is the oddest scent of them all: Mischief Cologne. This is based off of Loki’s treacherous smells, presumably to make you resemble a used car lot to people’s noses.

Comic book fans don’t seem to be the most adabtable group of people in the world. Whenever you hear about a comic book movie slightly altering something from the comics, a super hero getting a new costume, or Loki becoming a girl, you’re sure to find a plethora of message boards fueled by nerd rage. It can be quite amusing to see people get so upset that they threaten to burn your house down over some minor changes to fictional characters. That kind of behavior just seems absurd. The truth of the matter is that comic books have actually been grooming their readers to this kind of thought, simply through the fact that most changes that deviate from the original facets of a character are absolutely terrible.

In retrospect, giving Captain America a DD bust was a mistake.

This doesn’t necessarily mean that the stories themselves are terrible, just the results of them. Comic book companies have a habit of creating “what-If” types of storylines featuring alternate dimensions and stuff where different circumstances put well known heroes in odd situations. Marvel had several titles that actually went by the name of What-If, asking questions such as what if Spider-Man kept the power cosmic? All of these stories ended the same way, in disaster. What if Iron Man was a traitor? Then everybody dies. What if Thunderbolt Ross became the Hulk instead of Bruce Banner? Then everybody dies. What if the Invisible Girl married Namor? Then everybody lives happily ever after. No, not really, everybody dies. This kind of thing holds true for almost every alternate universe type of story told in mainstream comics, and usually with the emphasis that the main story line universe (Earth 616 in Marvel comics) is the only one where things are working out okay and the world isn’t about to end. At least not for real.

This holds true with DC titles as well. Their Elseworlds story lines kind of do the same thing as Marvel’s What-If. In one world, Batman is an actual vampire. In another, Superman is a communist. This works out about as well as can be expected. Even the recent DC story line Flashpoint, which was a terrific read, focused on minor changes leading to absolute disaster. We as comic readers have been conditioned to believe that any change to the main continuity of our stories will inevitably lead to disaster. This in itself is not a bad thing, as disasters can be exciting and fun to read about. What makes these disasters unpalatable for us is that they always seem to lead to the end of the story. What-If stories were pretty much always just one issue self contained tales. They didn’t leave room for sequels, so we just read the story, saw our favorite heroes die, and then it was over. These type of stories have made us cautious about any changes made to our favorite heroes, as we don’t want to see their stories come to an end. This kind of paranoia comes up when an artist decides to foolishly wreck the delicate balance of the universe by changing Spider-Man’s costume design, a change which will surely bring about the end of the Marvel universe as we know it.

In our defense, I’m pretty sure the Scarlet Spider/Clone Saga did almost kill the Marvel universe.

The Amazing Spider-Man release date draws closer and closer and the media will soon be ramping up previews and such now that Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance has officially been released. Starting the flood of Spider-Man news is the release of the first official clip from the movie! We get our first taste of this new web-slinger, and I was hoping to get a peek of the Lizard as well. Unfortunately this first clip is a lot more mundane than I was hoping for. Watch as Peter Parker, the spectacular Spider-Man, takes on his first foe: The Tenacious Doorman!

I would have liked to see some more punches thrown, webs slung, or spiders manned, but I am actually pretty pleased with that clip. Andrew Garfield has a certain awkwardness about him that fits his role of Peter Parker very well. The only thing that could have made this better is if this clip followed the tradition of the previous Spider-Man movies and cast Bruce Campbell as the doorman. I actually feel a little bit more excited for The Amazing Spider-Man than I was previously. Other looks have made Andrew Garfield’s portrayal of Peter Parker seem a little moodier, but this showed a good balance of social awkwardness and a little snark. I still want to see a fight scene though.

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance hits theaters tomorrow. Easily the least anticipated superhero movie of the year, I decided the only way to determine whether or not to see the movie was with a good old fashioned pro and cons list. 

Pro: Idris Elba and the Highlander Are In It

If you’ve seen Thor, The Wire, or Luther, you should know that Idris Elba is an undisputed badass. This guy’s steely gaze makes me feel inadequate as a man and as a human being. Every movie he stars in immediately becomes twice as watchable. Not to mention, Christopher Lambert is in it.  That’s right, the god damn Highlander.

Con: Nick Cage Needs Professional Help

Remember when everyone was so excited about Nick Cage coming back to play Ghost Rider? Me neither. You may or may not know that Nick Cage is an Academy Award winning actor, and has delivered some wonderful performances throughout a memorable career. He also starred in The Wicker Man. The internet has already done a great job of insulting the man, so I’ll just leave you with this. Beware the foul language and general insanity.

Pro: Mentally Unhinged Directors

Ghost Rider is a…less than realistic hero. He’s such an extreme character, anything other than excessive violence is just a waste of my time. Exploring the nature of humanity feels kind of ridiculous when your protagonist has a flaming skull and motorcycle. Luckily, directors Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor excel in this sort of batshittery. Look no further than Crank to see how far removed from reality these guys are. Sounds like a decent fit.

Con: Ghost Rider 1 Is the Worst Comic Book Movie Ever Made

In the long years between the original Spider-Man and Iron Man, Marvel produced some pretty terrible movies. Two of which were directed by Mark Steven Johnson. One is Daredevil, the other Ghost Rider. With the hellishly terrible Blackheart as the villain and a cliché script, the movie was just terrible. I like the idea of giving things second chances, but Ghost Rider was too terrible to be forgotten.

Result: Stay the Hell Away

Sure, I haven’t seen the movie. Technically, yes it is unfair for me to judge this movie purely on hearsay. But you know what? I will anyway. The trailers were forgettable at best, and everything from the low budget to Nick Cage’s presence screams train wreck.  Save that money so you can buy an extra ticket for the Avengers.

AMC has gotten a pretty nerdy following recently. The Walking Dead is a big part of this, and AMC has apparently realized that comic books and the people who read them are awesome. Also we are now a powerful demographic to be targeted by everyone! Our time has finally come! Moving on from that rush of power, let’s talk about AMC’s newest show: Comic Book Men. The basic premise is watching a bunch of nerds hang out in their comic book shop, talk comics and collectables, and show the cool stuff that people bring into the store. Also. it’s Kevin Smith’s comic book shop. Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash.

There are plenty of anti-Kevin Smith folks out there, but I am a fan of most of his work. While his refusal to pay attention to any sort of deadlines with his comic book work is infuriating, I still find Kevin Smith to be a very entertaining individual. That made me pretty optimistic about Comic Book Men, but I was surprised to find that I found the employees in his shop to be a better and bigger part of the show than him. Bryan, a former manager at a different branch of Smith’s comic book stores, isn’t technically an employee anymore, but he hangs around the shop and has quickly become my favorite part of the show. His sardonic wit, often at the expense of Ming, left me laughing several times throughout the premier episode. The back and forth between everybody on the show, and their willingness to tease their customers, make for a fun show that leaves me excited for the next episode.

One thing I’d like to see more of is the stuff that people bring to trade into the shop. The first items brought in were pretty cool, with issue #35 of Batman and an original sketch by Batman creator Bob Kane. Unfortunately the quality of the stuff brought in dropped off sharply after that. It is hard to be interested in a folded up Australian movie poster for Dawn of the Dead. Hopefully some more awesome stuff will be brought in during later shows. Overall, I was very pleased with Comic Book Men and highly recommend that you check it out if you missed the premier.